Archive for Activtiy

On Sunday afternoon, December 20th nine excited carolers gathered at church ready to delight those at the seven homes we were about to visit. Thank you to Carolyn, Drew, Bill, Joan, Pat, Dawn, Joyce, Kathy and Gretchen for singing hymns of the Christmas Season to some of our very special church friends. We had a lovely and fun time together.

We will be having two services on Christmas Eve. The Family Service will be held at 7:00 PM. This is a lovely service for both children and adults. The Hope Liturgical Rainbow Dancers will be dancing to “Praise the King” at this service. Bring the family and come enjoy some time welcoming the baby Jesus.

The traditional Candlelight Service will be held at 10:00 PM. Come and listen to the scriptures and hymns and a beautiful solo of “O Holy Night”. Prepare yourself to carry the light of the Christ child out into the world.

Preceding the services at 6:30 PM the Bethlehem Peace Light will be carried across the common from BUCC to Hope UMC. You can read about the Light in last week’s issue of The Sentinel.

Saturday October 3rd turned out to be a cold and drizzly day but a hardy group bundled up and grabbed their umbrellas and headed off to Rutland to visit the Heifer Farm to attend the Global Harvest Festival. We spent the morning learning more about Heifer International and the way that they help impoverished families. In their Global village we saw how people from other countries live.

Justin and Ethan digging potatoes in the rain

Allison, Paige and Lauren making prayer flags

We met llamas and alpacas, goats and rabbits, cows and sheep and yaks! The children were able to participate in various hands on activities at each country’s site to help them learn about the culture.

Hannah and Ethan help with the apple press

We were then able to see and help make apple cider with a hand crank press! For some of us the best part was the delicious warm cider that they had for us to sample; it was a real treat since we were pretty cold by then!

We ate our bag lunches in the community room of the barn and then finished up our visit watching a team of bareback riders who were giving a demonstration and of course a visit to the gift shop.

Abbie and Emily hamming it up!

We are hoping to head back to the farm for another visit in the late winter when they have a pancake breakfast (or lunch). We will be able to see the maple syrup being made and hopefully there will be lots of newborn sheep and goats.

A new group has been started to stimulate discussion and to broaden our knowledge and thinking about such topics as Global Warming; Clean Renewable Energy Sources; the Hidden Economy; Government Secrecy; Farming in America; Environmental Issues; and so much more. The group will meet for one hour at 6:30 on the fourth Monday each month. We are calling it the OPEN FORUM GROUP. The next meeting is on November 23rd.

Our own Lois Pare’ appeared on Mass Appeal today, November 10th, to promote an upcoming event to raise funds for the Lyme Disease Resource Center in Northampton. The event is a Dinner/Dance that will take place this Sunday, November 15th at the American Legion Hall in Granby from 5 to 10 PM.

Tickets for the event can be ordered from the Lyme Disease website. Check out Lois’ appearance on Mass Appeal to get more details about the event and to find out why it’s called “Buzz Off”!

On Sunday, September 27 at 1:30 pm, The Narrow Gate will perform in the church sanctuary. The lead singer, Dave LeTellier, was the originator and lead singer for Cottonwood before retiring. The Narrow Gate is a faith based band with a twang toward country. LeTellier said in an interview, “I found that my musical abilities turned more positive, more inspirational and to more faith-filled lyrics. I just found it was more fulfilling and brought me closer to God, and brings others to God through my music.”
The concert is free, however, there will be a free-will offering taken at the end of the performance to benefit Hope’s Place, our monthly free community meal.
Please put this on your calendars and come out for a great cause and wonderful afternoon of music.